Holy Bible: A Suggested Viewpoint for Reading and Gaining from Matthew 5:38-48: Jesus?

grego
(c)2011

Here are the verses in consideration:
Matthew 5:38 ¶Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth:
39 But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.
40 And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloke also.
41 And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain.
42 Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away.

43 ¶Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.
44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.
46 For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?
47 And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so?
48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.

I started out reading these verses as talking about bad people.

Then I have read these verses before linking the words: “evil, whosoever, man, him, enemy” to Satan and his.

Just a few days ago, I had a different thought: What if I read “enemy” et. al. in these verses as God?

At first, it seems preposterous, a sick twisting of the scriptures. But to me, it brought more insight than it ever has.

Matthew 5:38 ¶Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth:
[We want God to be fair with us, right? We want that “eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth”. And we really don’t like it when He’s not fair; when “life’s not fair”. In our eyes, He, His plan for us, life—become “evil”, our “enemy”, etc.]

That’s when Jesus’ advice is most pertinent:
39 But I say unto you, That ye resist not God: but if God(/ life) shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to Him the other also.
[How many times do we resist God? How many times do we try to run away like Jonah?]
40 And if God will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let Him have thy cloke also.
[What if we could be like Job, always ready to give back everything He has given us?]
41 And if God shall compel thee to go a mile, go with Him twain.
[What if we were like Elisha, voluntarily going with Elijah when asked three times to turn back, passing all obstacles and hardships, going all the way to the end?]
42 Give to Him that asketh thee, and from Him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away.
[What if we were ready to give all we had for his Church, kingdom, and will, even our entire lives through obedience, preparation, service, sacrifice, and death, like Jesus? What if we treated God and His requests as the most honest, righteous, pious, piteous beggar? What if we applied the teaching of king Benjamin (Mosiah 4) to God?]

43 ¶Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.
44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
[It’s easy to like and love God when “things are going well”; what about when they’re not? What if in the hardships God allows us and gives us, even when we know He’s cursed us through no big disobedience on our part, we were to remember, thank, and remain faithful to Him?]
45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.
[Still thinking on this one… :) ]
46 For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?
47 And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so?
[If we’re faithful to God when we (and others? ;) ) can clearly see He’s blessing and helping us be bountiful, isn’t that normal?; shouldn’t we be?]
48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.

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